After a fairly harsh few weeks of winter weather things began to improve. C had recently bought a brand new Ford Focus and what better way to celebrate than to shuttle across a few kilometers of water to an island named The Isle Of Wight.
This island has a total land mass of 348 square kilometers and a population of 140,500, although I have no doubt there have been a few deaths and births since wiki was last updated. As we began the journey to Portsmouth harbour it became clear that this nomadic vehicle was a class act indeed. Barely could I hear the engine or feel the road. Like being in a space capsule Ford had effectively created an isolated climate where the outside world could be a dome like television.
Although these modern cars are not for me, I was nevertheless greatly impressed. How many times do you get to drive a car with this many miles on the speedometer?
I love a first and this was the first time I had entered a ferry with a vehicle. It is amazing how many cars they can pack into the ship. After you have driven across the ramp and into the innards of the ship you are advised to exit the car and go upstairs to where the cafe and seating is.
The interior had seen better days, which added to the charm of this top level viewing zone. I have spent too many hours on various forms of transport - trains and planes mainly. Always I would feel like a contained wild animal in them since I could neither walk around or have a cigarette. Thankfully I quit the nicotine well over a year ago. I liked it here in this ferry since there was plenty of space to walk around and you could even go outside and have a cigarette on the viewing deck, or in my case, go outside and have a passive cigarette on the viewing deck. On this point I am pleased to announce that C has recently given up the smoking, and now she gets by with those patches that feed nicotine into the body in a controlled manner.
We arrived at a port called Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight and drove to our Premier Inn hotel located next to a quay and only a mile away from Newport town. Our room was purple as most Premier Inn hotels are, and we had a nice view over a stretch of water. I was particularly impressed with this aquatic nomadic home.
It was then time to partake in the nomad's favourite activity - exploration. This time I hopped into the driver's seat of the new Focus and drove us to a seaside town named Sandown to the east of the island. There is something strange about a holiday town in winter. It is as if the town has gone to sleep - into hibernation storing up energy in preparation for the tourist madness of the summer months. This place had a stunning beach and the inevitable amusement pier.
British folk will spend a fortune going to France or Spain or Italy - yet here on their own doorstep exist comparable beaches. Surprisingly the pier was open, although there were few punters for the many fruit machines.
After this we drive back to Newport and take to foot and explore the town. It is a pleasant place and we have that feeling of being on foreign soil even though this is a town as British as they come. We had lunch in The Castle Inn which is, apparently haunted - a photograph being taken of a hanging ghost in June 2006. You can see the creepy photo here.
Castle Inn hanging ghost
Thankfully we didn't see any ghosts although the place did have that cold feeling about it. This was probably due to the owners not lighting the open fire more than anything else.
The evening is spent having a three course meal in the restaurant next to the hotel. This was included in the hotel rate and very good value indeed. And so was the full breakfast next morning - although C was sorry she hadn't followed my lead and ordered the poached eggs. She had decided on the fried selection in the buffet section and I don't know about you, but a hard yolk doesn't cut it with me. Indeed I felt sorry for C and was almost going to offer her one of my poached, but I couldn't bring myself to do it - far too tasty to give away.
We decided to leave a few hours early. Arriving back at Fishbourne there were no other cars waiting for the ferry. Since we had booked a later shuttle, the man said we could go on standby but would have to forfeit the later reservation. No cars in view so I considered it not a problem. Half an hour later the park was full of cars waiting to board and we were nervous we would be stranded all day waiting for a position. But we did manage a place on the ship - and we were greatly relieved.
So that was my weekend and it was a pleasant break indeed.
Peace
This island has a total land mass of 348 square kilometers and a population of 140,500, although I have no doubt there have been a few deaths and births since wiki was last updated. As we began the journey to Portsmouth harbour it became clear that this nomadic vehicle was a class act indeed. Barely could I hear the engine or feel the road. Like being in a space capsule Ford had effectively created an isolated climate where the outside world could be a dome like television.
Although these modern cars are not for me, I was nevertheless greatly impressed. How many times do you get to drive a car with this many miles on the speedometer?
I love a first and this was the first time I had entered a ferry with a vehicle. It is amazing how many cars they can pack into the ship. After you have driven across the ramp and into the innards of the ship you are advised to exit the car and go upstairs to where the cafe and seating is.
The interior had seen better days, which added to the charm of this top level viewing zone. I have spent too many hours on various forms of transport - trains and planes mainly. Always I would feel like a contained wild animal in them since I could neither walk around or have a cigarette. Thankfully I quit the nicotine well over a year ago. I liked it here in this ferry since there was plenty of space to walk around and you could even go outside and have a cigarette on the viewing deck, or in my case, go outside and have a passive cigarette on the viewing deck. On this point I am pleased to announce that C has recently given up the smoking, and now she gets by with those patches that feed nicotine into the body in a controlled manner.
We arrived at a port called Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight and drove to our Premier Inn hotel located next to a quay and only a mile away from Newport town. Our room was purple as most Premier Inn hotels are, and we had a nice view over a stretch of water. I was particularly impressed with this aquatic nomadic home.
British folk will spend a fortune going to France or Spain or Italy - yet here on their own doorstep exist comparable beaches. Surprisingly the pier was open, although there were few punters for the many fruit machines.
After this we drive back to Newport and take to foot and explore the town. It is a pleasant place and we have that feeling of being on foreign soil even though this is a town as British as they come. We had lunch in The Castle Inn which is, apparently haunted - a photograph being taken of a hanging ghost in June 2006. You can see the creepy photo here.
Castle Inn hanging ghost
Thankfully we didn't see any ghosts although the place did have that cold feeling about it. This was probably due to the owners not lighting the open fire more than anything else.
The evening is spent having a three course meal in the restaurant next to the hotel. This was included in the hotel rate and very good value indeed. And so was the full breakfast next morning - although C was sorry she hadn't followed my lead and ordered the poached eggs. She had decided on the fried selection in the buffet section and I don't know about you, but a hard yolk doesn't cut it with me. Indeed I felt sorry for C and was almost going to offer her one of my poached, but I couldn't bring myself to do it - far too tasty to give away.
We decided to leave a few hours early. Arriving back at Fishbourne there were no other cars waiting for the ferry. Since we had booked a later shuttle, the man said we could go on standby but would have to forfeit the later reservation. No cars in view so I considered it not a problem. Half an hour later the park was full of cars waiting to board and we were nervous we would be stranded all day waiting for a position. But we did manage a place on the ship - and we were greatly relieved.
So that was my weekend and it was a pleasant break indeed.
Peace
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